Initial consonant blend worksheets — 20 free printables

Twenty free printable phonics worksheets for initial consonant blends — the blends that appear at the start of words. Each sheet is one page focused on one blend, with three activities.

This collection covers the three main families of initial blends: L-blends (bl, cl, fl, gl, pl, sl), R-blends (br, cr, dr, fr, gr, pr, tr), and S-blends (sc, sk, sm, sn, sp, st, sw).

For the final blends (the blends at the end of words: -nd, -nk, -mp), see Final consonant blend worksheets.

For an overview of all 30 blends (initial + final), see Phonics blends worksheets.

What's an initial blend?

An initial consonant blend is two consonants at the start of a word where you can hear both sounds. Star starts with /s/ and /t/ blended fast. Frog starts with /f/ and /r/.

This is different from a consonant digraph (sh, ch, th, ng) where two letters make one new sound. The /st/ in star keeps both sounds; the /sh/ in ship is a new sound altogether.

The 20 worksheets

L-blends (6 sheets) — second letter is l

• bl phonics worksheet — black, blue, block, blink, blob
• cl phonics worksheet — clock, clap, clip, climb, club
• fl phonics worksheet — flag, flat, fly, flame, flu
• gl phonics worksheet — glass, glow, glue, globe, glad
• pl phonics worksheet — plant, play, plus, place, plate
• sl phonics worksheet — slide, sleep, slow, slug, sled

R-blends (7 sheets) — second letter is r

• br phonics worksheet — brown, bread, brick, brush, brain
• cr phonics worksheet — crab, crash, cream, crown, cry
• dr phonics worksheet — drum, dress, drive, draw, dream
• fr phonics worksheet — frog, free, fresh, friend, frost
• gr phonics worksheet — green, grass, great, grow, grand
• pr phonics worksheet — prize, price, pretty, proud, press
• tr phonics worksheet — tree, truck, train, try, trade

S-blends (7 sheets) — first letter is s

• sc phonics worksheet — scarf, scan, scout, scale, scar
• sk phonics worksheet — sky, ski, skip, skate, skill
• sm phonics worksheet — smile, smell, small, smart, smoke
• sn phonics worksheet — snake, snap, snow, snail, sniff
• sp phonics worksheet — spider, spin, sport, speak, space
• st phonics worksheet — star, stop, stay, story, still
• sw phonics worksheet — swim, swing, sweet, swap, sweep

What's on each worksheet

Every initial blend worksheet follows the same structure:

Activity 1 — Find and circle. Twelve words in a grid; the child circles the words that start with the blend.

Activity 2 — Read aloud. Five featured words with the blend, each with a colorable dot.

Activity 3 — Trace. Six traces of the blend across the page — first solid, the rest light gray.

Parent note. A small teaching note explaining the blend, often with a tactile or comparative tip.

How to teach initial blends

Most kindergarten and Year 1 programs teach blends after CVC words are solid. A reasonable order:

1. L-blends first. They're often the easiest because the /l/ sound is stretchy.
2. R-blends next. Many kids develop the /r/ sound late, so don't push if your child says "wabbit" instead of "rabbit" — that's speech, not phonics.
3. S-blends last. Including the everyday workhorses like st (star, stop) and sp (spin, sport).

The teaching technique: stretch then merge. fff-rrr-og... fff-rrr-og... frog. Slow at first, then faster, until the two sounds merge into one blend.

For overall context on blends, see Phonics blends worksheets.

When to use these worksheets

Use these worksheets if:

• Your child reads CVC words (cat, sun, big) confidently
• They've met some blends in their reading
• They're 5-7 years old

Skip these worksheets if:

• Your child is still learning individual letter sounds — start with the Magic 7 set
• They read multi-syllable words easily — move on to Phase 5 work

Related resources

Part of the free phonics worksheets library.

Companion materials:

• Final consonant blend worksheets — the blends at the END of words
• Phonics blends worksheets — overview of all 30 blends
• Consonant digraph phonics worksheets — sh, ch, th, ng

Earlier stage:

• Magic 7 Phonics Flashcards
• CVC Word Pack

Common questions

What's the difference between an initial and a final blend?

An initial blend is at the start of a word: star, blue, frog. A final blend is at the end of a word: hand, lamp, fast. They use the same letters but appear in different positions — and are taught as separate skills.

Does my child need all 20 sheets?

Probably not. Most kids generalize after working through a handful of each family group — a couple of L-blends, a couple of R-blends, a couple of S-blends. The full 20 is for systematic teaching, not survival.

Are these worksheets really free?

Yes. All 20 are free for personal, classroom, and tutor use.